This invention relates to a combustion chamber apparatus and more particularly, to a burner and igniter of a combustion chamber having a horizontal orientation for use in an aqua-ammonia absorption chiller.
A combustion chamber basically operates to accommodate detonation of a fuel which may be a gas to achieve optimum operation. While there are many uses for combustion chambers, a particular application employs a combustion chamber in an aqua-ammonia absorption chiller. Such chillers operate to heat a solution of water and ammonia used as a refrigerant to convert the solution to a gas which cools as it condenses. In such chillers, a combustion chamber which includes a burner and an igniter is used to heat the solution and to convert it to a gas.
In any event, the prior art combustion chambers for such chillers are oriented in the vertical position and because of such orientation, they are difficult to maintain. Utilizing a vertical orientation for the burner and igniter in such a combustion chamber resulted in various difficulties in the prior art. One difficulty was the vertical configuration required a larger vertical profile, which therefore made the unit difficult to repair and maintain, as well as difficult to install. Because of the orientation, the installation and maintenance of various portions of the vertical burner and igniter caused breakage during installation, as well as various other problems. The prior art unit was difficult to repair and maintain.
In any event, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved burner ignition configuration to be employed in a chiller combustion chamber in which the configuration is arranged in a horizontal orientation.
A horizontal combustion chamber uses a mitered extension of a combustion chamber casting. The casting has a flange portion which eliminates the need for a ceramic cooling ring. The flange portion on the casting is of an increased thickness and therefore, provides more thermal isolation between the inner combustion chamber and the outside surface of the housing. By utilizing a horizontal orientation, the clearance between the outer diameter of the burner and the flange is decreased. This creates a volume for cooling to occur, while the increased wall thickness of the chamber allows for a heat sink effect. The use of the horizontal orientation allowed the overall height of the generator to be decreased and also enabled full access during installation and maintenance of the burner and igniter, resulting in a significant savings of maintenance time.